Future of Emergency Care Series

Report Brief

June 2006

Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains

Children represent a special challenge for emergency care providers, because they have unique medical needs in comparison to adults. For decades, policy makers and providers have recognized the special needs of children, but the system has been slow to develop an adequate response to their needs. This is in part due to inadequacies within the broader emergency care system. Emergency Care for Children examines the challenges associated with the provision of emergency services to children and families and evaluates progress since the publication of the Institute of Medicine report Emergency Medical Services for Children (1993), the first comprehensive look at pediatric emergency care in the United States. This new book offers an analysis of:

• The role of pediatric emergency services as an integrated component of the overall health system.
• System-wide pediatric emergency care planning, preparedness, coordination, and funding.
• Pediatric training in professional education.
• Research in pediatric emergency care.

This book will be of particular interest to emergency health care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the pediatric deficiencies within their emergency care systems.

Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point

Today our emergency care system faces an epidemic of crowded emergency departments, patients boarding in hallways waiting to be admitted, and daily ambulance diversions. Hospital-Based Emergency Care addresses the difficulty of balancing the roles of hospital-based emergency and trauma care, not simply urgent and lifesaving care, but also safety net care for uninsured patients, public health surveillance, disaster preparation, and adjunct care in the face of increasing patient volume and limited resources. This new book considers the multiple aspects to the emergency care system in the United States by exploring its strengths, limitations, and future challenges. The wide range of issues covered includes:

• The role and impact of the emergency department within the larger hospital and health care system.
• Patient flow and information technology.
• Workforce issues across multiple disciplines.
• Patient safety and the quality and efficiency of emergency care services.
• Basic, clinical, and health services research relevant to emergency care.
• Special challenges of emergency care in rural settings.

This book will be of particular interest to emergency care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the deficiencies in emergency care systems.

Emergency Medical Services: At the Crossroads

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a critical component of our nation's emergency and trauma care system, providing response and medical transport to millions of sick and injured Americans each year. At its best, EMS is a crucial link to survival in the chain of care, but within the last several years, complex problems facing the emergency care system have emerged. Press coverage has highlighted instances of slow EMS response times, ambulance diversions, trauma center closures, and ground and air medical crashes. This heightened public awareness of problems that have been building over time has underscored the need for a review of the U.S. emergency care system. Emergency Medical Servicesprovides the first comprehensive study on this topic. This new book examines the operational structure of EMS by presenting an in-depth analysis of the current organization, delivery, and financing of these types of services and systems. By addressing its strengths, limitations, and future challenges this book draws upon a range of concerns:

• The evolving role of EMS as an integral component of the overall health care system.
• EMS system planning, preparedness, and coordination at the federal, state, and local levels.
• EMS funding and infrastructure investments.
• EMS workforce trends and professional education.
• EMS research priorities and funding.

This book will be of particular interest to emergency care providers, professional organizations, and policy makers looking to address the deficiencies in emergency care systems.